Five Myths About Sororities

As you might know, I am a proud sorority woman who spent a year working for my international organization after graduating from college, so of course I was interested when A Greek Concept contacted me to ask about sharing an article on Semi-Charmed Kind of Life. Combating stereotypes is undoubtedly one of the toughest things about being in a sorority, and I definitely identified with the points included in post. Whether you're a sorority woman who has struggled with improving the Greek image or someone who has not experienced Greek life and wants to know more, the following post is definitely worth reading.

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We’ve all done it – stereotyped someone else (or a group of someone elses) because we didn’t know any better. What terrible mistakes we make before we see the whole picture! Greek life is an automatic target for stereotyping. Truth be told, it isn’t right not only because it’s not fair, but also because sororities bring about so much good in the world! Read the follow myths to recognize some really amazing contributions that sororities make.

A Year in Review: Life as an LC

Although I left my sorority's international headquarters on May 10, my last duty as a Leadership Consultant for Alpha Delta Pi just ended in Dallas this weekend, as the other consultants and I worked at the biannual Grand Convention.

This year was a whirlwind to say the least. For anyone who isn't Greek—or even those of you who are Greek but never experienced a consultant visit—this job probably sounds ridiculous. Some of us affectionately call ourselves "professional sorority girls," but really we serve many purposes: event planners, conversation experts, recruitment gurus, confidants, handywomen, and—of course—leadership consultants. No matter the specific purpose of our visit, we always met with the collegiate sorority officers to provide suggestions, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the chapter, and develop detailed reports and chapter goals to help the organization continue to improve.

I already shared several of the things I learned during my first semester of this position, and now I'd like to share a few more:

How to Celebrate International Women's Day

In honor of International Women's Day and National Ritual Celebration Week, I wanted to share a very important organization with my readers today. I've been meaning to blog about this for a while, and today seemed like the perfect day.

As you probably know if you read my blog, I am a sorority woman. A few years ago, several sorority alumnae came together to create Circle of Sisterhood, an organization that raises money and awareness to help remove barriers to education for women around the world. When I was a junior at the University of Missouri, I had the opportunity to help start our very own chapter of the Circle of Sisterhood, so it is an organization I am personally invested in and proud of. If you have two minutes and 38 seconds and want to know more, please watch this video.

"Our mission: The Circle of Sisterhood Foundation will leverage the collective wisdom and influence of sorority women to support entities around the world that remove educational barriers for girls and women, uplifting them from poverty and oppression."

What can you (and I) do to help this organization flourish and continue to provide opportunities to our sisters around the world? We can donate, tweet, educate ourselves and others, and be grateful for all the opportunities and privileges we have as women in first-world countries, including whatever device you're using to read this post. (And, of course, support of this organization is not limited to sorority women!)

I know I don't often promote other services/organizations on this blog, so I hope you didn't mind this post today and that it shows you how much I really do believe in this organization. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading, and hug a woman who means a lot to you today. Thank you all for being such important women and friends in my life!

International Badge Day 2013

Happy International Badge Day, sorority women! Each year, the National Panhellenic Conference designates a day for all sorority women—both collegians and alumnae—to wear their sorority badge with pride. Today I'm linking up with Whitney and Autumn to share a few memories of my collegiate sorority experience in honor of this special day.

Design and photos by Megan. Wallpaper by Wallope.

What's wrong with being a sorority girl?

My first few months of traveling as a Leadership Consultant for Alpha Delta Pi have been primarily filled with recruitment visits. In preparation for the recruitment period, many chapters talk about what their sorority means to them and what they are looking for in their new members. A common theme I have found among the schools I've visited is that the women do not think of themselves as "sorority girls." In fact, they pride themselves on not being "sorority girls." To this, I have two reactions:

1. Most obviously: A) You are a woman. B) You are in a sorority. Therefore, you are a "sorority girl" (or, as I prefer to say, sorority woman).

2. More importantly: When people say they're not a "sorority girl," what are they really saying? They're probably saying they are not Elle Woods, right? (Although, Elle did graduate with honors from Harvard Law, so I'm not sure what's so wrong with being her....)

Source: justanothersouthernbelle.tumblr.com via Alice on Pinterest

I understand why people think of sorority girls as blonde bimbos; that's how we are portrayed in the media. However, I always like to remind the women in the chapters I visit to look at our creed, and then tell me why they don't want to be "sorority girls."

What is wrong with wanting to serve mankind selflessly?

     What is wrong with being a courageous and confident leader?

          What is wrong with focusing on scholarship and relationships?

               What is wrong with striving to do your best in everything you undertake?

If being in a sorority were about clothes and make-up, I never would have joined. Luckily, that is not what being in a sorority is about ... at all. It's about forming lasting friendships with women who share the same values I do. It's about developing my own personality and character into a strong, independent woman. It's about philanthropy and community service and learning to value the needs of others. It's about realizing my own true potential and finding the motivation and support to live up to that potential. I firmly believe that if sorority women everywhere realize this is what sorority life is about—not all the superficial stuff that is shown on television—that understanding will lead them to achieve rich and useful lives.

Image via the Alpha Delta Pi Pinterest account

Edited to add: I'm linking up this old post for the "Greek is Greek" link-up (hosted Wednesday, August 7, 2013). Click the button below to meet fellow Greek bloggers and read about their sorority experiences! And if you haven't yet, be sure to check out Being Greek: A Sisterhood of Bloggers.

The rose of Pi Kappa Phi.

As I've mentioned before, each fraternity and sorority has its own consultant program to support their chapters. On our first full day of training in July, the Pi Kappa Phi consultants drove down from Charlotte to meet the Alpha Delta Pi consultants and tour our Memorial Headquarters. As a former intern, I was able to lead one of the tours and learn just how much I did (and didn't) remember about the building. After the initial meeting and tours, we had cookies and lemonade and chatted about our upcoming years. Many of the Pi Kappa Phi consultant visits overlap with our Alpha Delta Pi assignments, so some of us may see these men again. Before they left, the Pi Kapps gave us a beautiful bouquet of roses and serenaded us with "The Rose of Pi Kappa Phi." Sweet, right? Who said chivalry is dead?

Also, on a completely unrelated note, the winner of my 100-follower giveaway is....

Breanna of My Beautiful, Crazy Life!
Congratulations, Breanna! Email me at semicharmedkol@gmail.com by Monday, August 13, so we can get your prizes to you ASAP. You can go ahead and attach your 200x200 button to that email so I can get it posted in my sidebar immediately. Congrats again! And thanks to everyone who participated. :)

The making of a professional sorority girl.

After meeting each other for the first time at Leadership Seminar a few weeks ago, the 2012-2013 Alpha Delta Pi Leadership Consultants were reunited in Atlanta last Tuesday. We overcame our first travel-related obstacle together by successfully fitting 11 people and 26 suitcases in our two rental cars. Whew! After unloading the cars at Executive Office, we were invited downstairs to receive our new goodies from the sorority.

Here are some of the fabulous things we got to help us get through the year:

• A new iPad, affectionately nicknamed the "PiPad" in these parts.
  
• A PiPhone (which I used to take this picture).
  
• A very official nametag.
  
• A binder designed by our Violet Sister (see below).
  
• Our very own Ritual Book!
  
• Fun folders and office supplies, including sticky pads, paper clips, highlighters, etc.
  
• A padfolio with the crest of Alpha Delta Pi.
  
• Legit business cards with a card holder.

When I first found out Brett was my Violet Sister at Leadership Seminar, she told me she had stalked my Pinterest to see what kind of stuff I liked. I can tell from this binder: It just screams Megan, don't you think? :) She also sent me a beautiful engraved bracelet at Executive Office accompanied by a turtle card. It was such a nice surprise!

Thanks, Violet! :)

After opening up all our goodies, our boss gave us the best gift of all: Our August schedules! I'm not saying where I'm going quite yet, but I will say I'll be visiting five campuses in three different states during the month of August, and I couldn't be more excited.

Stay tuned for more updates from our training here in Atlanta!

Things that make me go "hmm."

Happy weekend, everyone! I wanted to start your Saturday off right with this adorable turtle picture. My friend Caroline posted it on my Facebook timeline for my birthday, and I just cannot get enough of it! It looks like it's saying: "GIMME A HUG!"

Source: Uploaded by user via Megan on Pinterest

Now, on to the interesting links I found this week:

Things for my apartment.

Note: I wrote this post on October 26, intending to add more items to the list before I published it, but that hasn't happened thus far. So, I'm publishing it now! With a quick addition at the bottom.

I recently made a list of things I can't wait to have when I live in an apartment and not in a totally-fun-but-slightly-restrictive sorority house. Since then, I've thought of several more items I'm itching to purchase/enjoy. Enjoy part two of the series:

Source: wanelo.com via Mallory on Pinterest

A coffee maker! Luckily, we have decent coffee at my sorority house, but it is unfortunately not out yet when I leave for work at 4:50 a.m. When I have my own coffee maker, I can caffeinate myself whenever I need/want! And though I might need to stop by Starbucks once a week or so for a delicious peppermint mocha, having my own coffee maker will drastically cut down on my spending.

Source: bhg.com via Anna on Pinterest

I can't wait to have my own bathroom. Well, I'll probably still share with a roommate or two, but it will be glorious to have a medicine cabinet and not be limited to a little metal cubby under the sink with 20 other girls' stuff. I'll be able to store my toothbrush upright instead of in a travel toothbrush holder, and I won't have to carry my less-than-daily cosmetic products back and forth from my room! It really is the little things in life.

Source: etsy.com via Linnea on Pinterest

I can finally buy wine! Of course, campus and sorority rules prevented me from having wine in my room up until this point, but I'm probably more excited about the possibility of adorable wine stoppers (see above) than I am about the wine itself.

Things for my apartment.

I feel like I've been blogging about my friend Kiki a lot lately, but what can I say? She's a big part of my life. So, she inspired this post in two ways:

1. She came to my room to cuddle briefly tonight.
2. She bought candles at Marshalls when we went shopping last weekend.

Now let me explain what these two things have in common.

1. I live in a twin bed. Which also happens to be a top bunk. Which makes cuddling with two grown women a little difficult.
2. I live in a sorority house. Which means candles are prohibited.

So, that leads me to the topic of this post: Things I can't wait to have when I live in an apartment! Here's the short list for now:

Source: None via Megan on Pinterest

A double bed (at least!). I have always lived in a twin. My sister and brother (who is three years younger, mind you) both had double or queen-sized beds in high school, but I - the middle child - slept in a broken old-top-half-of-our-bunk-bed-from-1997 twin until my mom sold the house last month to move to Switzerland.

(Don't even get me started on my mild-to-severe middle child syndrome. It's quite traumatic.)

Source: mycottageofbliss.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

Pretty candles! These are especially gorgeous for autumn.

Source: whitekitchens.blogspot.com via Rhonda on Pinterest

Somewhere to cook. I currently have access to a microwave, but no oven. This isn't to say I actually can cook, but I'd like to have the option. Or at least be able to broil my leftover French fries in the oven instead of microwaving them to a soggy temperature. Yuck.

Source: None via Nicole on Pinterest

Great art! I'm limited right now to hanging decorations from the wooden strip around my room, and I'm also limited to hanging things that are light enough to be held up with 3M adhesive. I just can't wait to put some nails in the wall! The Creed of Alpha Delta Pi will be the first thing to be framed and hung.

I'm sure I will think of many more material things to look forward to as graduation approaches, but that's all for now!

It only happens once in 100 years.

This past weekend, Mizzou celebrated its Centennial Homecoming. Although the term "first homecoming" is debatable, the University of Missouri is widely recognized as the founder of homecoming, dating back to when the athletic director invited alumni home to Mizzou for the Missouri-Kansas football game in 1911. Without getting too scholarly here, I will acknowledge the opposing faction that claims Mizzou was not the first. An Associated Press story published last month said, in part:

Tigers faithful have spent decades claiming former Missouri football coach and athletic director Chester Brewer's invitation for graduates to “come home” was the start of the tradition. School leaders know better — and are now more vocal in dispelling a well-worn myth whose adherents included Brewer himself.

“We try to be a little more careful about it,” said Missouri Alumni Association executive director Todd McCubbin, whose organization used to promote the school's homecoming as “the first and finest.”

The Oct. 15 game vs. Iowa State, preceded by a week's worth of activities, is now simply the school's centennial celebration.

“Certainly, our graduates feel like we're the first,” he said. “Sometimes perception is reality.”

So basically, what I'm saying is I'll still claim Mizzou as the originator of Homecoming. And we're still recognized as the largest student-run homecoming in the nation!

This is what Greektown looks like the night before Homecoming! (Right outside the ADPi house.)

Go Tigers! Moving on ...

72 Days at Mizzou.

Photo via Pinterest

1. It's been a while since I've written a post about my
impending graduation and subsequent limited time at Mizzou.

2. I bought my cap and gown for graduation today. Eek!

3. With only 72 days left, I don't anticipate I'll accomplish

much more during my undergraduate experience.

Due to these three items, I decided it was time to write a nostalgic piece about my time at the University of Missouri. I don't know if you can be nostalgic about something that isn't actually over yet, but I'm going to do it. So there. This will be mostly photos that represent my most memorable and/or proudest moments here at Mizzou. Enjoy!

100 Days at Mizzou.

Source: fashionandmodeling.tumblr.com via Keith on Pinterest 

Well, maybe the boys in this post don't look quite like this. But a girl can dream!

So, I was walking past a particular fraternity house on my way home from work today and was inspired to write a new post. See, this fraternity really likes to play music on its lawn when the weather is nice, which is usually accompanied by several men playing sports in the front yard or lying out on lawn chairs, sometimes sans clothing. Some days, I find this irritating, but today I really appreciated the music because the fabulous almost-fall weather we've been having put me in a good mood.

As I was walking by the house (singing along in my head, of course), I realized it is probably the trivial things like this that I will miss about Mizzou when I graduate in December. I've lived in my Greek house for the past two years, so I've become accustomed to the surrounding atmosphere. This realization came only a few hours before I looked at my phone and noticed my graduation countdown app, which now says:

"Graduation! 12/16/2011. 100 Days Left."

Of course, I took this as a sign that I needed to somehow commemorate my last 100 days of my undergraduate eduction. So this is the first post of (probably) many, to record the good times and the bad before I leave Mizzou at the end of the semester.

Source: bakerella.com via Laura on Pinterest

Someone, please feel free to make these for me.

They will make the fact that I'm graduating so much easier to stomach.

P.S. - As I was writing this post, the above-mentioned fraternity house began playing Justin Bieber ("One Less Lonely Girl"). Yes, I can hear it from my room.

Home to the motherland.

Before I jet off on Ethiopian Airlines (they check your bags for free!), I wanted to post about an exciting adventure I had earlier this week. Bonnie Pennington (our glamorous Alpha Delta Pi archivist) took all the interns on a very special trip to Macon, Ga., on Wednesday to see where it all began.

Photo (and artsy-fartsy editing) by Amanda B. Nguyen.

For my non-ADPi readers out there, Alpha Delta Pi was founded as the Adelphean Society at Wesleyan Female College in Macon, Ga. The college doesn't have Greek Life anymore, but it still exists (as shown above) along with our Alpha Delta Pi history!

The interns present ... Ms. Bonnie Pennington!

These lions are new at Wesleyan! We were one of the first groups to see them.

(Alpha Delta Pi and Phi Mu, both founded at Wesleyan, claim the lion as their mascot.)

Eugenia Tucker Fitzgerald (our primary founder) lived to the ripe old age of 94!
In fact, she was still alive when my chapter, Alpha Gamma, was founded in 1915.

Awkward family photo? Haha.
The Cannonball House in Macon has a room dedicated to the Adelphean Society.
Some of our alumnae were able to save original furnishings from the first chapter room at
Wesleyan, which now decorate the Cannonball House.

Diamonds are forever.

Grand Convention this past weekend was a wonderful reminder that sorority is not just a four-year experience; it's for a lifetime.

Seeing all the alumnae at Convention who now serve as advisors, as International Officers, on House Corporations or as former officers made me want to stay involved with Alpha Delta Pi even after I graduate. (Does anyone need a Standards Advisor next year?) But the best part of the weekend was all the fabulous traditions I got to witness and experience. Here's a rundown of a few of the best:

1. Watching the great-great-granddaughter of one of our founders be initiated. That's right. Our archivists at Executive Office were able to locate two descendants of Elizabeth Williams Mitchell, one of the six founders of Alpha Delta Pi, and one of them was initiated in front of the whole body on Saturday. I don't know what was cooler: watching our Grand Council perform the ritual that my sisters and I perform every year, or watching someone's great-great-granddaughter turn into her sister (and mine!).


2. On that note, Elizabeth Mitchell was the last of our founders to have a portrait made in her likeness. The search for a photograph of Elizabeth was what led to her descendants in the first place. On Wednesday night, during the opening banquet, the brand-new portrait of Elizabeth Mitchell was revealed, which now completes the collection in our Founders' Gallery at Memorial Headquarters.


3. Carrying my chapter's flag in the Adelphean Processional. Pretty much everything about this day was cool: the head-to-toe white every Alpha Delt was wearing; the roll call that remembered all 202 of our chapters, active or closed; and the fact that this tradition was instituted by a member of my own Alpha Gamma chapter, Caralee Strock Stanard. (Read more about the tradition in my chapter blog.)

4. Having a voice in the biggest business meeting of Alpha Delta Pi. That's right, as chapter president, I was eligible to vote on the by-law revisions, amendments and resolutions presented at our business meeting at Grand Convention. I also got to cast my vote for the next Grand Council of Alpha Delta Pi. (One of the positions required three separate votes before a candidate garnered the majority vote! Politics can be exciting.) After learning the results of these new resolutions, I'm looking forward to the changes our International Organization is putting into place to help our sorority continue to be...

First. Finest. Forever.

Diamonds in the desert.

This year, Alpha Delta Pi sorority celebrates 160 years of existence. Wow. That's pretty cool. And considering we were the First. Finest. Forever., we get to be the first sorority to reach this milestone anniversary.


I, for one, am lucky enough to celebrate this special time as an attendee at Grand Convention in Phoenix, Ariz. (hence the turquoise anniversary badge, above). Grand Convention occurs every two years and is the premiere event for Alpha Delta Pi sorority. It includes business meetings (where we discuss and vote on important ADPi things such as by-law revisions and Grand Council candidates), leadership workshops, lots of awards presentations and, of course, fun Convention traditions!

I know it's not yet midnight, but I am exhausted. It might sound like I'm just living the sorority life this weekend, but it's harder than it sounds! So I will have to provide more details tomorrow ... or maybe Sunday ... or maybe Monday when I finally get back into my routine at Executive Office.

Until then, you can keep up with all the happenings at Grand Convention here, on the official Alpha Delta Pi Grand Convention blog.

Loyally,
Megan

Welcome to Atlanta!

Okay, so it's "Welcome to Miami," as my fellow interns pointed out just the other day. But I'm in Atlanta, so I'm going to adapt the lyrics for now.

Welcome to my blog! I will (hopefully) be chronicling my adventures during my internship in Atlanta this summer...


then my study abroad trip to Rwanda...


and then my job search when I get back to school (University of Missouri) in August.


I would like to point out that I wanted to call this blog "Megan in Motion" to reflect my constant travels and life changes, but the other interns in the room all laughed at me. Well look right to see my new alliteration! Ha! (Edited to add: I used to have a widget in the right column called "Meet Megan," but I've updated my blog since then!)